TRON: A Different Legacy
by Galaxiacana
Summary: The Sea of Simulation was more sentiment than any Program or User could have imagined. In the cycles before CLU begins his rise to power, the Sea creates an ISO like no other. One that knows of events before they come to pass. Can he change the terrible fate of the Grid, or will he set in motion a chain of events with unimaginable consequences? Pre-Legacy. No pairings as of yet.
1. Chapter 1

Hello fellow readers. This is my second go at fanfiction and my very first Tron based story. No promises as to how well it goes, you will of course be the judge of that. I thought of trying something a bit different here so try to keep an open mind when reading. This is only the prologue so it isn't brilliant, but things will be explained more in the first chapter. Anyway I will be grateful for any reviews as your oppinions matter, good or bad.

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Prologue

Darkness. Complete and total darkness. So heavy in its sheer mass, I felt like I would never escape it. Yet somehow I did. Thinking back on it now, a part of me wishes I could have remained in it. It cocooned me in blissful unawareness, erected barriers of naivety that protected me from the cold truth. Until that is, those barriers were destroyed by some unforgiving entity known as the Sea of Simulation.

So many do not know of its true nature. I count those as the lucky ones. When I felt myself amongst those crushing currents of random data streams, I was as scared and confused as any other ISO. To awaken in such a place in such a way, one could not even begin to compute. How my form was manifested I still do not understand, even to this cycle. The Creator called it 'one of the many miracles of the grid' and I'm inclined to agree with him. When I broke through the surface and crawled my way to the shore, I was welcomed with smiles and warm comforts. Energy sticks were thrust at me as they led me to a recovery unit. The energy chambers there, they said, would help me recover.

That night (or at least I assumed it was, one can never tell with the dark skies of the Grid) I had dreamt. If programs even dream that is. Even now I vividly remember them, not that I could ever forget such unnerving images. I could not make sense of them then, not until cycles later. The images I saw were vague in their detail, yet startling in their clarity. Armies of menacingly coloured programs standing in formation, more than I could ever hope to process. Programs derezzing left, right and centre, either by the hands of another program or (much to my horror) themselves. Screams of agony, pain, anger and fear and then….nothing. It had faded almost as soon as it had manifested in my data banks, until all that remained were its imprint on my disk.

I had not seen any violence when I had first emerged from the sea, but still there was an underlying tension coating everything, as if we were all waiting for something unexpected to happen. I feel bitter laughter bubbling up inside me now at the thought of how in tune my instincts were even then. I had understood that those dreams were something of which I could not talk about. Would any program even had believed me anyhow? Even my fellow ISO's? Something about them hadn't sat well with me, and I felt an ominous doom settle deep within my circuits.

I can still recall that feeling. I have felt it every micro cycle since. Perhaps paranoia has been within me so long, I cannot feel anything else. I am thankful for it all the same, without it I would not have survived I'm sure. Still, I resent it; resent the knowledge that was thrust upon me without any consideration for myself or those around me.

Why me? What was, no _is _so special about me? By the Creator I just wanted to live a normal existence, I knew right from the start that I wanted to help programs yet I never envisioned I would do it in quite such a way as I have. So many regrets, so many wishes and prayers that I could start over, do _something _better. The sea however remains ignorant. These 'Guardians of the Grid' as they call themselves, put all their faith in me and I failed. No, perhaps I'm being too hard on myself, I failed in one way yes, but still I prevented an injustice in another. It's still too early to tell, if what I have done so far was right or wrong. The only thing I am certain of right now is that I'm the most wanted program on the Grid, and not just because I'm an ISO.

All I can hope for is that things will turn out brighter. The Creator Kevin Flynn is out there somewhere, his son as well. He always told us to believe in ourselves and believe I will. I was given this knowledge for a reason. It does not matter if I perceive it to be a gift or a curse, because it has aided me in many ways with saving the lives of others. And although I may not be able to change the past now, I can still guide the future. I must stand strong, like the Users.

_I must not give up._


	2. Chapter 2

****YAY! My first chapter. This is primarily based on introducing some of the Key characters. As for my main characters name, I assure you this story has nothing to do with TRON: Uprising, I just liked the name. Any other names I may take from it are simply used for character purposes and they are fitting names for programs. I own nothing to do with any TRON franchises. Anyway, here it is, hope you think it's alright and I welcome any and all advice. Reviews would be nice too!

Next chapter up soon.

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**Chapter 1**

_Where am I? _I wondered as I lay haphazardly on my back, eyes gazing with confusion up at the dark, stormy sky._ How did I get here? _I felt something wet hit my forehead, sliding down my cheek to behind my neck, then another and another. More and more until my already drenched body was soaked through and I felt the cold worse than ever.

Slowly I turned my head ninety degrees to the side, naturally straining my sound receptors to pick up any trace of sound. There was none apart from the light patter of water droplets hitting the hard ground. Casting my gaze into the distance, I could barely see a thing. The land was dark and full of foreboding, little light having ever reached this place from the look of it. The land rose to meet the sky, towering above me in the form of hulking, jagged shapes. The mountains sharp peaks and unforgiving precipices daring anything to come closer.

But something else was there, a solitary speck of light glowing out of the gloom like a beacon in the dark. Drifting my eyes away from the captivating image, I saw another a short distance past it, and a few more past that…then something else – a road! Turning my head to better follow its path, I saw more lights than I could of thought possible in a place such as this. There stood a bridge that seemed to shine with some inner light of its own, incredibly bright and beautiful, and shimmering an incandescent blue. The bridge however was nothing compared to what I saw past it. Blinding in its intense light and sheer structural size stood what appeared to be a city, nothing like I ever dreamed of. Buildings tall, wide, short, and thin stretched out for miles around, some even taller than the mountains behind me. Every part of that city glowed, no _blazed _with light. It literally radiated power, leaving my processors numb and inactive even as I tried to stem the flow of raging thoughts.

Shaking my head as if to clear it, I realised I had to move. To stay here any longer would place my very existence at potential risk. As slowly as possible I tried to move, beginning with my fingers, elbows, shoulders and then my torso. Every part of me felt stiff, unwilling to co-operate with the silent commands I was sending them. After having succeeded with sitting upright, I attempted to move my legs, relief flooding my circuits as they did. _Now it's the big one _I thought nervously. Straining with all my might, I shifted over until I was on my knees. I stumbled to my feet, dizziness overcoming me, so much so that for a moment I felt likely to overbalance, if not for the piece of rock that jutted out of the ground. Having somewhat cleared my head of the nausea, I looked up into the distance. I felt my eyes widen as I noticed that a light was growing, it began as a mere speck at first, but then grew larger, splitting into three. Each grew larger still as it came closer towards me and eventually I could see enough detail to make out the shapes.

The limited knowledge my databanks supplied me told me they were light cycles. My primary concern however was who or even_ what _was manoeuvring them. All three vehicles were completely white, even the circuitry that stood dazzling against the dark scope of land behind them. They were beautiful. They slowed smoothly to a standstill as they reached me, helmets and bikes derezzing as soon as they disembarked. The two on either side of the small formation were male. Both large, fierce looking programs with scars clearly visible on their faces. On one the gashes were so deep you could see every segment of damaged coding beneath, branching off each other to encompass the rest of their faces. The eyes however, were a stark contrast to whatever assumption their look gave. They were full of excitement, even compassion for the fact they too must have shared the same experience as I. I cast my gaze to the program in the centre and felt my circuits flare. A female with long brown hair tied back in an elaborate style, large brown eyes with long eye lashes and delicate, pale features which held an aristocratic grace and beauty. I quickly averted my eyes, fully aware that I was openly staring, subconsciously fidgeting with my fingers even as they walked up to me.

"Greetings Program," the female began, smiling warmly. "My name is Nividia, and these two are Cody and Digit. We're friends", she added once she noted my wary expression.

"We – where am I? What is this place?" I stammer. Cody began chuckling and Digit flashed me a sympathetic smile.

"Why this is grid of course, a utopia for all programs," Nividia answered, shooting a withering glance at Cody who quickly sobered his expression into one of politeness and slight guilt. "Here we do not simply exist, but live. You are one of us, an ISO or Isomorphic Algorithm to be precise. You can be anything you want here, it truly is a magical place for – _by the Creator, sit down!_ You look like you're going to derezz. Here, have this," she said as she thrust a glass phial into my trembling hands. As Digit and Cody slowly lowered me to the ground, I steadied my hand and downed the shimmering blue liquid, scarcely caring for what it consisted of, just desperate to be rid of the nausea that was threatening to over whelm me.

The Liquid was cool yet at the same time warm. Ice flowed through my circuits as heat curdled within my midsection. I could feel every part of me humming with feeling, the urge to run unsurpassable distances without stopping. It was pure ecstasy. I gazed up into her eyes and inclined my head in gratitude, still fighting to overcome the powerful sensation the liquid gave me.

"There you go, much better. That was energy in case you were wondering, energy in its purest form. It's rare in this state, but we have it for such emergencies", she stated as she helped me to my feet. I felt myself sway but thankfully Cody was still clutching my arm to steady me.

"It's amazing. You say I'm on the Grid, how did I get here? All I remember is waking up on the shore here", I say confused. It was Digit that answered. "All of us emerge from the Sea, the Sea of Simulation that is. It created us, gave us life, or so the Creator says".

"Well we best be getting back, you look like you could use a few millicycles in an energy chamber. We'll use Lightcycles to get there, much more efficient", Nividia stated. I could only gape as they sharply pulled apart the long, black, cylindrical objects known as batons. From it emerged a twisting stream of light, lines upon lines of glowing coding growing into existence out of seemingly nothing, forming the outline of the cycle and then filling in the mass of its structure. In a nanosecond the vehicle was formed before my very eyes, although it felt as though it had taken cycles to my processors.

"Come on, you can ride with me", Digit said to me, glancing over to Cody. "I assure you, if you ride with Cody he'll likely get you derezzed before you can _say _derezzed. You're much safer if you ride with me. Besides he drives like a deformed Gridbug". Cody, upon hearing that threw a ferocious glare at Digit, who flashed him a winning smile so comical I couldn't help but feel the corners of my mouth twitch up, despite my tiredness. Even Cody's face softened, shaking his head and climbing onto the cycle.

Once I had swung my leg over Digit's cycle and had secured myself to the seat, my helmet immediately rezzed over my head, the cycle's engine revved and we sped off. As the land passed by in a blur, I still felt my processors burn with curiosity. _This place is so strange, foreign and yet it feels so familiar. How is that even possible? _The urge to find out more overcame me.

"Who is the Creator anyway?" I ask curiously through the communication system.

"A User. An incredible one at that. He created the Grid, the Basic's in Tron City, Tron City _itself_", Digit answered first.

"Basics?"

"Yeah, the other kind of Programs to us. They are created by Users, whereas we emerge from the Sea, no idea how. Like the Creator said, a miracle of the Grid".

As I came to terms with this, I asked "Did you ever meet him?"

"Oh yes," Nividia stated with admiration evident in her voice. "Every Program has met him at least once; he makes it a priority to introduce himself to us personally. We call him the Creator as a sign of respect for all that he has done and all that he aims to do. Although, he does prefer to be called by his User name, Kevin Flynn. He's very friendly; you can't help but like him".

"He's a bit of an unknown entity, I'll admit that," Cody interjected. "But that only adds to the mystery around him. If you look over there, across the Sea, that's where the portal opens to take him to and from the Grid. He can't be here all the time you see, he has other priorities in his world, so he created a Program in his own image called CLU, he takes care of things for him as Administrator of the System. There's also a security Program called Tron, who keeps the system safe. He's the greatest security program in existence, you'll soon here the legend's around him. I expect you'll see them both at some point".

Though I didn't outwardly show it, I felt a sense of veiled danger at the thought of CLU, why I couldn't say. The name was familiar though how that was the case was a mystery to me, seeing as I had never been here before. Something told me to keep my wits about me should I encounter him. Nividia's next question broke me out of my reverie. "I just realised, I never caught your name".

"Oh, it's Beck", I stated.

"Well Beck, let me be the first to say welcome. Welcome to Arajia City".

As we came to a stop at the cities perimeter, all I could feel in that moment was awe. This place, although smaller than Tron City, was still a magnificent sight to behold. Each and every building gleamed with light, elaborate detail etched into every surface in unusual shapes and designs. Towers stood luminous in the dark of the sky and everywhere I looked, Programs were happily milling around, going about whatever business they had. I could see a few buildings which looked like hubs for social gathering seeing as Programs were grouped around talking and drinking Energy phials. As we walked through the brightly lit streets, I noticed that everyone was smiling at me, recognizing I was new and making me feel welcome. I tentatively smiled back, unused to the mass of attention directed at me.

"Come on, the medical chambers are this way. You'll have time to meet and greet later, I promise", Nividia stated warmly.

Together we passed through a large set of doors into a building so white I felt my eyes wince at the unnatural brightness. As my eyes adjusted, I found myself led (or rather dragged) into a huge, circular room filled with life size chambers around the walls. Some Programs were in them, engulfed in a faint blue light which was being emitted from above their heads, their circuits dim and pulsing slowly. I looked down at my own and realized that they too were extremely dim.

"These are Energy Chambers; they will restore your energy capacitors to their optimum level. Right now their dangerously low, which is common once you emerge from the Sea. You'll feel a lot better after spending some time in them."

"Thank you, all of you, for what you've done for me", I said, trying to put all my gratefulness into my words.

Cody smiled and Digit clapped me on the back. "Any time my friend, any time".

As they left, a Program in a white uniform helped me into the Chamber. The clear glass screen closed in front of me and I too was encased in that light. It felt warm and friendly, and I immediately felt my system slow down. The last thing I saw, before I gave into unconsciousness, was Nividia mouthing something at me which I couldn't quite register, smiling at me before I surrendered to the darkness.


End file.
